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Sports 1B Weekend April 16-17, 2011 Cain, Sandoval lead Giants past Diamondbacks 5-2 PHOENIX (AP) — Matt Cain had his third strong outing in three appearances this season and Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run homer to lift the San Francisco Giants to their third straight victo- ry, 5-2 over the Arizona Dia- mondbacks on Friday night. Cain (2-0) allowed one run on four hits in six innings — plus two batters. The right-hander, coming off a superb postseason, threw six scoreless innings, then gave up a popup double down the right field line to Stephen Drew and hit Melvin Mora to end his night in the seventh. Drew later scored, just the third run charged to Cain in 19-plus innings this season. Sandoval’s third homer of the year, off Daniel Hudson in the first inning, provided all the offense the Giants needed. San- doval also walked and scored on the first of Miguel Tejada’s two doubles. Hudson (0-3) matched his career best with 10 strikeouts but allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and three walks in six innings. Brian Wilson came on with runners at first and second and two outs in the ninth. He gave up an RBI single to Willie Bloomquist before getting slump- ing Kelly Johnson to pop out for his third save in four tries. With one out in the first, Fred- dy Sanchez singled off the glove of third baseman Melvin Mora, then Buster Posey singled up the middle to bring up Sandoval. With two outs, on a 1-0 pitch, the still big — but not as big as before after an offseason conditioning program — hit a towering shot Capitals beat Rangers 2-0 WASHINGTON (AP) — If the aim of the new- style Washington Capitals is to win by frustration, they’ve certainly hit full stride against the New York Rangers. The Rangers controlled the flow of play for two of three periods against the Capitals on Friday night, but couldn’t penetrate a group that has truly learned how to play defensive hock- ey. New York managed only 22 shots on Michal Neuvirth and the rookie stopped every single one, getting his first playoff shutout in a 2-0 victory that gave Washington a 2-0 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference series. ‘‘It’s a long game,’’ said Brooks Laich, who assisted on Washington’s first goal. ‘‘And if you can bend at times but not break and keep up that solid defensive hockey, maybe frustrate them, it works to our advan- tage.’’ So far, so good — unless you’re sitting in the Rangers’ locker room, try- ing to figure out how your team has managed only one goal in nearly 140 minutes in the series. ‘‘We’ve done some of the things we wanted to do, but it’s not enough,’’ center Brian Boyle said. ‘‘It wasn’t enough in Game 1, and it wasn’t enough tonight. It’s frustration tonight. We get (ticked) off, but it is what it is. We’re down two and we need to win Game 3.’’ After playing on their heels much of the first peri- od, the Capitals got a talk from coach Bruce Boudreau and came out for the second period a different team, dominating the Rangers from one end of the rink to the other. Jason Chimera and Jason Arnott scored in a 1:57 span. ‘‘We came out a little slow, and he addressed that in the intermission of the first and second,’’ defense- man Mike Green said. ‘‘And we started to pick it up after that. And then it was just a battle of attrition ’til the end.’’ Neuvirth took care of the rest. The 23-year-old goalie, who had four shutouts in the regular season, has stopped 46 of 47 shots so far in the series. It turns out those titles he won in the minors had him well prepared after all. ‘‘He’s been in the play- offs before,’’ Arnott said. ‘‘Maybe not in this elite league, but he’s just a young goaltender. The young guys over the swimming pool in right field to put the Giants up 3-0. San Francisco added one in the fourth when Sandoval drew a leadoff walk, Brandon Belt sin- gled and Tejada doubled down thhe left field line. Cain followed with a low liner to right fielder Justin Upton, who made the catch and threw home as Belt was held at third. Upton had two singles off Cain. Storm silences thunder in 6 The Red Bluff Spartans baseball team put up 12 runs in just six innings Friday night to beat the Las Plumas Thunder- birds 12-2 at home. Coach Joe Gal- laty said pitcher Storm Lewis gave up just three hits and one earned run over the six-inning complete game. Lewis didn’t allow a baserunner after the first inning, dealing seven strikeouts and no walks. The offense came from Modesto Ramirez, who went 3 for 4 and 2 RBI and a double; Lewis, 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and Tyler Reed, 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. The mercy rule was invoked after the sixth inning, when Red Bluff led by 10 runs. The Spartans go to 16 and 3 on the season, 7 and 2 in the league, Gallaty said. Cochran shoots 64 to lead by Outback by 2 strokes LUTZ, Fla. (AP) — Russ Cochran isn’t hitting his MCT photo Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) collides with New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi (5) during the third period of Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Playoffs at the Verizon Center Friday. Washington defeated New York 2-0. Washington leads the series 2-0. are taking over the league, and the goalies are getting younger as well, and they’ve got to step up and take a leadership role as well as be the backbone of the team, and he’s doing that right now.’’ Henrik Lundqvist made 16 saves for the Rangers, who return home for Game 3 on Sunday. They’ve held Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin to one goal apiece, but that’s no longer the for- mula for beating the Capi- tals. Lightning bounce back PITTSBURGH (AP) — Martin St. Louis didn’t need three broken teeth to pro- vide any more motivation in helping the Tampa Bay Lightning bounce back in their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Pen- guins. ‘‘My motivation is we were down 1-0,’’ St. Louis said. ‘‘It’s not because I lose teeth.’’ Either way, the diminu- tive forward put some bite back in a Lightning offense by scoring a goal and adding an assist in a 5-1 vic- tory Friday night in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series. Defenseman Eric Brew- er led the charge with a goal MLB American League At A Glance By The Associated Press East Division WL Pct GB New York 7 5 .583 — Toronto 7 6 .538 1/2 Baltimore 6 6 .500 1 Tampa Bay 5 8 .3852 1/2 Boston 2 10 .167 5 Central Division WL Pct GB Cleveland 9 4 .692 — Kansas City 9 4 .692 — Chicago 7 6 .538 2 Detroit 6 7 .462 3 Minnesota 4 9 .308 5 West Division Texas Seattle WL Pct GB 10 3 .769 — Los Angeles 8 5 .615 2 A’s 6 7 .462 4 4 10 .2866 1/2 ——— Thursday’s Games Tampa Bay 4, Minnesota 3, 10 innings N.Y.Yankees 6, Baltimore 5, 10 innings Kansas City 5, Seattle 1, 8 innings Detroit 3, Oakland 0 Friday’s Games Cleveland 8, Baltimore 2 Texas 5, N.Y.Yankees 3 Tampa Bay 5, Minnesota 2 Toronto 7, Boston 6 L.A. Angels 4, Chicago White Sox 3 Kansas City 6, Seattle 5 Detroit at Oakland, late Saturday’s Games Baltimore (Guthrie 1-1) at Cleveland (Tom- lin 2-0), 10:05 a.m. Texas (Holland 2-0) at N.Y.Yankees (F.Gar- cia 0-0), 10:05 a.m. Seattle (F.Hernandez 1-1) at Kansas City (O’Sullivan 0-1), 10:10 a.m. Toronto (Jo-.Reyes 0-1) at Boston (Beckett 1-1), 10:10 a.m. L.A. Angels (Chatwood 0-1) at Chicago White Sox (Floyd 1-0), 1:10 p.m. Minnesota (S.Baker 0-2) at Tampa Bay (Niemann 0-2), 1:10 p.m. Detroit (Verlander 1-1) at Oakland (Braden 0-1), 7:05 p.m. Sunday’s Games Baltimore at Cleveland, 10:05 a.m Toronto at Boston, 10:35 a.m. Minnesota at Tampa Bay, 10:40 a.m. L.A. Angels at Chicago White Sox, 11:10 a.m. Seattle at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Detroit at Oakland, 1:05 p.m. and two assists and the Lightning rediscovered their high-powered offense to blow the game open with a three-goal first period. The five goals — capped by Mattias Ohlund’s empty- netter — were the most the Lightning have scored in a road playoff game. The eruption came two nights after they were utter- ly stymied by Marc-Andre Fleury’s acrobatic 32-save performance in a 3-0 series- opening loss. And it was a forgettable game for St. Louis, who was livid no penalty was called after he was cracked across the face by Zbynek Michalek’s errant stick in the second period. Lightning captain Vin- cent Lecavalier wasn’t sur- prised by how St. Louis responded. ‘‘I don’t think three teeth would hold him off for tonight,’’ said Lecavalier, who scored a goal. Nate Thompson also scored, while Simon Gagne had three assists. Dwayne Roloson made 35 saves, including 14 in the final period. Craig Adams scored for the Penguins, who came out flat and will have two days to regroup for Game 3 at Tampa Bay on Monday night. Pittsburgh was undone Texas at N.Y.Yankees, 5:05 p.m. Monday’s Games Toronto at Boston, 8:05 a.m. Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay, 3:40 p.m. Minnesota at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. L.A. Angels at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Cleveland at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. Detroit at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. National League At A Glance By The Associated Press East Division Philadelphia 9 4 .692 — Florida Washington 6 7 .462 3 Atlanta WL Pct GB 8 5 .615 1 5 8 .385 4 New York 4 9 .308 5 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 8 5 .615 — Milwaukee 7 6 .538 1 Chicago 6 7 .462 2 Pittsburgh 6 7 .462 2 St. Louis 6 7 .462 2 Houston 4 10 .2864 1/2 West Division WL Pct GB Colorado 11 2 .846 — Giants 7 6 .538 4 Los Angeles 6 7 .462 5 San Diego 6 7 .462 5 by sub-par goaltending from Fleury, uncharacteris- tic defensive miscues and a more familiar problem of lacking finish. That’s some- thing the team’s struggled with in playing much of the final half of its season with- out captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Fleury wasn’t pleased with his 16-save outing. ‘‘They do have a good offense, but I was still hop- ing to definitely do better than tonight,’’ Fleury said. ‘‘I’ll have to if we want to keep winning.’’ Another concern is the Penguins’ anemic power play, which went 0-for-7. Pittsburgh is 0 for 13 in the series and has converted just six of its past 79 power-play opportunities over the past 25 games. ‘‘I think we have to understand what the prob- lem and the situation is and we didn’t execute very well on the power play tonight,’’ coach Dan Bylsma said. ‘‘We have to be much better to think we’re going to have a chance to have success.’’ The Lightning not only had a few calls go their way, they also capitalized on two of six chances. This was after Lightning coach Guy Boucher questioned how the Penguins had a 6-1 advantage in power-play opportunities in Game 1. Scoreboard Arizona 5 7 .4175 1/2 ——— Thursday’s Games Colorado 6, N.Y. Mets 5, 1st game Colorado 9, N.Y. Mets 4, 2nd game Milwaukee 4, Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 4, Washington 0 Florida 6, Atlanta 5 Houston 1, San Diego 0 St. Louis 9, L.A. Dodgers 5 Friday’s Games Florida 4, Philadelphia 3 Washington 4, Milwaukee 3, 10 innings Pittsburgh 6, Cincinnati 1 N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, ppd., rain San Diego 4, Houston 2 Colorado 5, Chicago Cubs 0 San Francisco 5, Arizona 2 St. Louis at L.A. Dodgers, late Saturday’s Games Milwaukee (Gallardo 1-0) at Washington (Marquis 0-0), 10:05 a.m. Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 0-0) at Cincinnati (Leake 1-0), 10:10 a.m. N.Y. Mets (D.Carrasco 0-0) at Atlanta (D.Lowe 1-2), 1:10 p.m., 1st game Florida (Ani.Sanchez 0-1) at Philadelphia (Hamels 1-1), 4:05 p.m. San Diego (Latos 0-1) at Houston (Figueroa 0-2), 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Pelfrey 0-1) at Atlanta (Jurrjens 0-0), 4:40 p.m., 2nd game Chicago Cubs (Coleman 0-0) at Colorado (Hammel 1-0), 5:10 p.m. San Francisco (Zito 0-1) at Arizona (J.Saunders 0-1), 5:10 p.m. St. Louis (McClellan 1-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 2-1), 7:10 p.m. Sunday’s Games Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 10:10 a.m. Florida at Philadelphia, 10:35 a.m. Milwaukee at Washington, 10:35 a.m. N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, 10:35 a.m. San Diego at Houston, 11:05 a.m. Chicago Cubs at Colorado, 12:10 p.m. San Francisco at Arizona, 1:10 p.m. St. Louis at L.A. Dodgers, 1:10 p.m. Monday’s Games Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. San Diego at Chicago Cubs, 5:05 p.m. San Francisco at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. Atlanta at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. MOVES By The Associated Press BASEBALL American League BOSTON RED SOX—Agreed to terms with 1B Adrian Gonzalez to a seven-year con- tract extension through the 2018 season. CLEVELAND INDIANS—Activated RHP Joe Smith from the 15-day DL. MINNESOTA TWINS—Selected the con- tract of C Steve Holm from Rochester (IL). NEW YORK YANKEES—Placed RHP Phil Hughes on the 15-day DL. Called up RHP Lance Pendleton from Scranton/Wilkes- Barre (IL). TEXAS RANGERS—Recalled LHP Michael Kirkman from Round Rock (PCL). Placed RHP Colby Lewis on the paternity leave list. TORONTO BLUE JAYS—Recalled LHP Luis Perez from Las Vegas (PCL). National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS—Placed RHP Aaron Heilman on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Josh Collmenter from Reno (PCL). HOUSTON ASTROS—Placed RHP Wilton Lopez on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 14. Selected the contract of RHP Jose Valdez from Oklahoma City (PCL). PITTSBURGH PIRATES—Selected the contract of LHP Joe Beimel from Indi- anapolis (IL). Designated LHP Garrett Olson for assignment. National Hockey League NHL—Suspended Los Angeles F Jarret Stoll one game for delivering a check from behind on San Jose D Ian White in an April 14 game. driver well. You would just never know it by his first-round score at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Cochran shot a 7-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead over John Cook and Jay Don Blake at the Cham- pions Tour event even though the 52-year-old left- hander hit only 10 of 14 fairways and averaged just 270 yards off the tee. ‘‘I came over here and played in the pro-am (Thursday) and didn’t really drive it that well,’’ Cochran said. ‘‘Hit it in the water two or three times and just didn’t feel as good over (the ball).’’ ‘‘I was teasing my pro-am partners yesterday. They were going to see a personal record of me hit- ting it in the hazard, I thought.’’ Though Cochran wasn’t hazard free, he somehow managed a bogey-free round, starting it with birdies on Nos. 10-12. His drive on No. 12 landed in the rough and his second shot found a greenside bunker. But Cochran hit a wedge to about 18 inches for a tap-in birdie. Those first three holes gave him confidence and a cushion. ‘‘It let me play a little more comfortable given the fact that I drove it so poorly Thursday,’’ Cochran said. ‘‘It helped me erase those memories and get started on track.’’ Cochran, who is fifth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, has finished in the top 10 in four of his five Champions Tour events this season and won twice in 2010. His lone PGA Tour win came at the 1991 Centel Western Open, where he overcame a five-stroke deficit over eight holes to beat Greg Nor- man. ‘‘You’re going to have to step up on these holes and make a quality swing and hit a quality shot,’’ Cochran said. ‘‘I think a lot of guys out here are right-handers, obviously, and they’re hitting it down the left side and cutting it. There are just some real- ly unbelievably tricky shots out there.’’ Cook and Blake shot 66s and were a stroke ahead of Kenny Perry, who birdied five holes on his back nine after shooting 1 over on the front, making his Outback Pro-Am debut in his third Champions Tour tournament. ‘‘I knew I needed to make birdies,’’ Perry said. ‘‘I always thought people always would tell me, ’8 under is going to win the tournament.’ Well, Russ is already 7 (under), you know, so I’m thinking that’s not going to work here. ‘‘I’ve got to figure out a way to get close and stay in the mix a little bit,’’ Perry said. ‘‘I can’t get too far behind here, so (I’m) very excited with the start.’’